Maple Park Cemetery was founded as a rural cemetery, a style of cemetery that became very popular starting in the nineteenth century. Rural cemeteries have park-like, landscaped grounds where people may come and enjoy nature. Cemetery visitors are encouraged to picnic on the lawns, take long walks around the grounds, and enjoy the architecture and scenery. Rural cemeteries are … [Read more...] about Maple Park Cemetery Gravestones: Researched, Conserved, Reconstructed, and Reset by Samantha Jester
This collection of objects comes from the Bonniebrook estate, the home of Rose O’Neill. Although she is most widely known for having created the Kewpie doll, O’Neill was also a prominent artist, illustrator, actress, author, and suffragette. O’Neill was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Nebraska, and she was an artist prodigy as child, winning a newspaper art competition at … [Read more...] about Excavated Iron Home and Farm Implements: Researched and Conserved by Kevin Frey
Traditionally, the African cultures known as the Kisii have long mined soapstone from the Tabaka Hills in southwest Kenya to make powdered soapstone for use in healing, divining, and initiation rituals. Starting in the 20th century, Kisii men began to mine this soft metamorphic rock in order to supply workshops where the soapstone is carved into small sculptures and household … [Read more...] about Hand-Carved Kisii Soapstone Objects: Researched and Conserved by Christina Elkinton
The Kina Shell Moka Breastplate is a type of body decoration that is worn primarily by men of the different highlands regions of Papua New Guinea. The breastplate may be worn on the neck, the chest, or in some regions, on the back. The breastplate consists of a kina shell -- a large piece of pearl oyster shell -- that is set into a backing composed of different substances such … [Read more...] about Kina Shell Moka Breastplate: Researched and Conserved by Naysa Adams
The Igbo men of Nigeria create Isiji initiation masks with a wooden frame to form the tall upper section and a calabash gourd to form the face mask. The frame is tightly wound and tied with raffia rope and fibers, and more raffia is braided and tied around the edges of the mask to form a border and side loops. The mask is painted with red, black, white, and yellow mineral … [Read more...] about An Isiji Initiation Mask: Researched and Conserved by Earlene Elliot-Lee